I've been in Kinshasa for almost a week now. It's been a great opportunity to take some time off from Bukavu, although I'm still busy working. I had not realized how big and developed Kinshasa was, especially in comparison to Bukavu. The roads, for the main part, are great; there are lots of shops and places to eat at; lots of things to do; pools... the package! Life in Kinshasa with IRC seems to be more "normal," with people leaving the office at a reasonable hour, cooking at the house, and chilling on weekends by the pool. It's very hot though, and the transportation can be such a frustration. Last night, we went salsa dancing at Standing Club, and I had to wait more than an hour for the driver to come pick me up... so frustrated, especially as they don't think about being accountable or the whole security situation either!
I've had cossa cossa twice now, and it's been GREAT. It's a nice change from Bukavu, where the food is the same when you're at home or go out... no complaints, the food at the house is great, but it's nice to have options. Service here still sucks, and they don't seem to have an understanding of what's important when servicing a client... like last night, they straightened the table cloth instead of bringing us the bread, after we asked them 3-4 times over the course of 10 minutes... oh well, cultural difference that must be accepted and just laughed over, rather than get frustrated and wasting one's energy.
I had a talk with Brian this week about the possibility of staying with IRC. There are so many conflicting factors over me staying or leaving... I just don't know. I wouldn't have imagined staying here for more than a year, especially when I had first arrived to DRC. Life in Bukavu is great, but being far away from family and lacking somewhat of a social life can be straining. Work was also very boring with all the monotonous reporting... but it's improving. I might even get the chance to do a partner's evaluation in Goma in a few weeks. Should be great to be in the field and leave the office a bit to get my hands "dirty." Daniel also left this week, which means that our team is now down to 3 people... and I'm hearing Natalie might be leaving as well... what the heck... this is going to be stressful, and I actually think we'll be spending even more time with reviewing/editing reports. If it continues like that until August, even after the changes we're supposed to implement, perhaps it's not worth it to stay.
The security situation in Bukavu seems to be chaotic... the archbishop came out and said that a war was imminent... the trends from the wars of 1998 and 2004 are repeating themselves, with foreign soldiers infiltrating the city, massacres taking place... ayayay... I hope things stay calm and that the government continues to create some stability and security for the people, as they've known so much horror that they probably won't be able to take another one.
I'll be leaving back for Bukavu this weekend, hopefully. I feel bad because I haven't taught now for two weeks, and although this little getaway was helpful and great, I miss Bukavu and my "normal" life there... it was great to see Georgia, and we all went out a bit.
Until next update.
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